Blog Post #9 Field Trip to Shannon Point

Chiton

This is a chiton and we found it washed up on the beach while we were on the beach looking under rocks and tide pools. This organism was not doing much when we saw it, as it was dead, but they do have an important role, which is to be predator and control the population of sea stars. 

Purple Shore Crab

This organism was a purple shore crab, which we saw a handful of multiple time throughout our trip. This one was under a rock where the majority were found during our trip. It was walking in a small tide pool trying to get to protection under another rock before one of the students picked it up. At that point it was struggling to  get away by squirming and pinching because it obviously didn't like being held. This organism's ecological role is that of a main food source for many fish, birds, and more. 

Sea Pen

This organism is the Sea Pen, and it was brought in for us to view in the laboratory. At the time it was not moving much, sometimes you could maybe se the slightest of movement, but otherwise it stayed pretty still the whole time. I was quite interested by this organism because of its vibrant color and interesting shape. At first I did not even think it was an organism because its color made it look fake or even like plastic, though I came to find out it was alive. This organism's ecological role is to be a food source for other organisms. 

Decorative Crab

The decorative crab was brought to us in the laboratory to view. It was covered in little pieces of what looked like pebbles, sand, etc. in order to protect and camouflage itself from any potential predators. At the time, this crab was not moving much, though every once in awhile if the table was bumped into or if tis container was pushed, it would move its legs a bit to where it looked like he was trying to grip himself to keep him stable. 

Personally, the most interesting part of this trip to Shannon Point would have to be seeing the Sea Pen. The reason for this was that it just did not look realistic to me and I was amazed by its beautiful color and shape. But I also was quite interested and excited to see the porpoise. I did not know what it was, so I was glad to learn a bit more about it. What changed my perspective about the coast of the Pacific Northwest was that I got to see all these organisms that are living together and relying upon one another, which I never thought about before this class. I always thought our water were boring with not much life, but this field trip opened my eyes and made me think otherwise of it. A question that came up on my visit to Shannon Point was that you always hear that organisms you see shouldn't be moved or repositioned in its habitat. I get that Shannon Point is a research center, so they need the organisms to do research on, but how and when do they, if at all, put the organisms back in their natural habitats from the aquariums where they hold them?